Heart of the Matter
by Lala Kate
Summary: Drabbles set in "Pulse Points" verse. If you haven't read that story, these won't make much sense.


Regina jumped when her cell phone vibrated in her hand.

She'd been about to stick it in her pocket after replying to Mary Margaret's text, but the call caught her just as she'd hit "Send", nearly making her nearly drop her phone in the process of trying to see who was calling at 9:13 pm on a Friday night.

 _Emma Swan_ flashed across her screen. She nearly dropped the phone again upon seeing the social worker's name.

"Hello," Regina answered, covering her left ear to block out the restaurant's noise as best as she could. "Hold on, Emma. I can barely hear you. Let me move to someplace that I can."

She began to make her way through the crowd towards the kitchen, skirting by August as she grabbed her husband's arm and gestured for him to follow her. They maneuvered through the card room to the back of the restaurant until they stood right beside the table where they'd had their first date.

"Go ahead, Emma," Regina said, watching Robin's eyes widen at the social worker's name. "I'm putting you on speaker. Robin's here with me."

"Alright," Emma replied. "Listen, I know it's late and all, but I have an emergency situation with a kid, and I'm really hoping you guys can help me out."

Regina swallowed hard as Robin reached out to squeeze her hand. They'd applied to become foster parents a few months ago, had received the training, had spoken with several other foster parents in the Boston area about the pros and cons of opening their hearts and home to a child who could be taken from them at any moment, but they'd decided to move forward. Since then, it's been a waiting game.

"Go on," Regina said, her mouth the texture of sand. "We're listening."

"Little girl," Emma began. "Ten months old."

Robin's eyes met her's. An infant. Her pulse skittered ahead of the rest of her as she licked her lips.

"Her parents were just arrested and are looking at serious charges," Emma continued. "The kind that could mean life in prison and possibly the eventual severing of parental rights."

"Christ," Robin muttered, rubbing the scruff on his chin. "Is she alright, Emma? The baby? Has she been abused in any way?"

"No signs of physical abuse, thank God," Emma replied. "Although we do suspect neglect. Mom was higher than a kite when she was arrested, and the kid's diaper rash is off the chart."

 _Shit_ , Regina muttered, her mind flooded with image after image of the neglected children of druggies she'd treated over the years in the E.R. How many simple maladies had turned into complex issues simply because they'd been left to fester rather than being treated right away?

"Thank God she wasn't nursing, so there are no traces of drugs in the baby's system," Emma continued.

"That's good," Regina said as Robin sighed in relief. "Emma, we'll…"

"Before you agree to take her, you need to know the full story," Emma cut in. "This is a really high profile case. It's making the news even as we speak, and the family has money-serious money, although they made a decent portion of it illegally, which is why they're asses are in jail."

"Drugs?" Robin asked.

"Among other things," Emma replied. "Money laundering, imbezzlement...one of the charges they're facing is human trafficking."

"Good God," Regina exclaimed, shaking her head. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes, trying to block out dark memories of trafficking victims who'd been placed under her care in the hospital, teenagers and children whose external wounds she'd treated but whose internal wounds ran far deeper than her medical degree could reach.

"So you can see why I want you to think this through," Emma continued. "This family will not go down quietly, and they have the resources to fight the charges against them. I also have no doubt that they'll fight like hell to keep their parental rights, regardless of the fact that I think they're sorry asses should be stripped of them immediately. Agreeing to take in this baby could turn into a long-term commitment that might not end well for you guys."

"By that, you mean we'll get attached and might have to eventually give her up," Robin surmised, looking squarely into Regina's eyes. She swallowed hard, knowing full well just how likely they were to fall in love with a ten month old. The three month window during which Henry's biological mother could have reclaimed him had been pure torture for her. God, she hadn't taken a full breath until the day that waiting period ended and he'd officially become her son. But she had still taken a chance with him, had opened her heart and her home to a baby who could have been snatched away from her at a moment's notice. She had no regrets. There's no way in hell she'd have done things any differently, even if the end result had not gone in her favor. Thank God that it had, thank God Henry was hers.

Now here was this little girl-this innocent born to parents who'd screwed up not only their own lives but the lives of countless others, this child hanging in the balance through no fault of her own. Accepting her would be a gamble of emotions, a leap into the unknown, a flat-out baring of her heart and soul with the full knowledge that both could be shattered.

Was she ready to risk that again? Was Robin?

"That's exactly what I mean," Emma stated. "That's the way it is with most foster placements, but I fully expect this situation to turn into one agonizing and drawn out case."

Regina sighed, leaning into Robin as his arm slid around her from behind. He gave her a small smile and a nod, his sign that he was ready for this, risks and all, and she leaned into him, absorbing his strength as he held her close.

"There's one more thing," Emma added, a hint of reluctance in her voice. "Another reason I specifically thought of you two for this baby."

Robin inhaled, pressing his lips together as they both stared at the phone.

"Go on," he said, giving Regina's arm a squeeze.

"She has a heart defect," Emma stated.

Regina closed her eyes and breathed in slowly as her husband held her even tighter.

"What kind?" she asked, knowing it didn't matter. The baby was now theirs in her mind, because there was no foster mother out there more qualified for caring for a child with a heart condition than she.

"VSD," Emma replied. Regina exhaled and nodded, knowing that at least her prognosis should be good with the right treatment. "From what I was told, the hole in her heart is of the larger variety, but so far she seems to be doing okay."

"At most, she'll eventually need surgery," Regina cut in. "Who's her cardiologist? Do you have her medical records?"

"I have all of that information with me," Emma replied. "But I can only share her medical history with you if you agree to take her."

Regina swallowed and turned to face her husband, nearly melting at the absolute assurance staring back at her from blue eyes she loved more than life itself. She nodded, and he smiled, leaning in to kiss her forehead.

"We'll take her," Robin stated. "God, Emma, you knew we would."

They heard her sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah," Emma confessed. "I was fairly certain you would. Which is why I'm currently parked in front of the restaurant."

They're eyes widened at that.

"You're here?" Regina asked. "With the baby?"

"She's asleep in the back seat," Emma said. "She was worn out from her time in the hospital, poor kid. She sacked out almost the second I pulled out of the parking lot."

Regina's chin trembled.

"We'll be out there in a second," she uttered before hanging up. They looked at each other before taking each other's hands.

"Well," Robin began. "This has turned into quite an eventful evening, I'd say."

"Oh my God," she whispered, shaking her head, trying to take it all in. "She's only a baby, Robin. And Christ-she has a heart defect."

"That's the moment I knew," Robin began. "Without a shadow of a doubt that she's meant to be with us."

"I know," she breathed, squeezing his hands. "But still...oh my God."

They walked out through the back door rather than tracking through the restaurant's traffick.

Emma's car was right where she'd said it would be, and she climbed out when she saw them approaching, walking to the curb with a small wave.

"She's cute," Emma stated. "I mean, really cute. She's gonna get to you really fast."

"I have no doubt," Robin said as Emma turned and opened her backdoor. The baby didn't stir at the sound, and continued to sleep as Emma unfastened her from the car seat and laid her over her shoulder. She turned to face them before readjusting the infant and extending her towards Regina.

Her hands shook as she took the child, as the ginger head readjusted itself on her shoulder, as a small fist clung to her blouse before once again going slack. She rubbed the girl's back through her sage green footed sleeper as Emma covered her with a lavender blanket before handing Robin an overly-stuffed diaper bag.

"There are diapers, formula, wipes, lotion, and the ointment for her diaper rash in there," Emma stated. "As well as a few pacifiers and a couple of sleepers and onesies."

"Does she take any medication for her heart?" Regina asked, tingling as the baby's breath tickled her neck.

"Not that I'm aware of," Emma replied, reaching further into her car to retrieve a file. "But here are her medical records. I figured you could make more sense of them than I could."

Robin came to stand beside her as he took the file, his large palm cupping the soft, red wisps atop their foster daughter's head.

"She's beautiful," he murmured, and Regina nodded, a piece of her heart melting into this child whose name she didn't even know.

"Meet Sabrina," Emma said, as if she'd just read Regina's mind.

"Sabrina?" Robin returned with a small nod. "That's a lovely name."

"Sabrina Kate," Emma affirmed. "Hold on. She dropped her giraffe."

The social worker leaned down and retrieved a floppy stuffed animal from the car's floor, handing it to Robin with a shrug.

"She'll be wanting that when she wakes up," Emma explained. "Trust me. She's obsessively attached. Now, do you all have what you need to accommodate her tonight?"

"I have Roland's old crib in the garage," Robin replied. "We should be able to get that together easily enough, although we'll need to get sheets, pads and the like."

"We'll need to get a car seat," Regina said.

"I'll go tell August that I've got to make a run to Babies R Us," Robin stated. "If it's still open."

"They're open until 10:00," Emma returned. "But I have a car seat you can use in my trunk you can have. In my line of work, it helps to keep a spare around."

"Thank you," Regina stated as she began to instinctively rock back and forth on her feet. The sweet scent of baby lotion wafted into her, unleashing a slew of maternal instincts as Sabrina nuzzled closer into her neck.

"No," Emma replied after hoisting the car seat out of her trunk and laying it at Robin's feet. "Thank you. Not many people are willing to do this, even if they think it's a good and admirable thing. And know that no matter what happens here, you're giving this child a safe shelter at the time she needs it most. You're changing her life for the better whether this turns out to be a permanent or a temporary placement."

Robin exhaled from behind her as his hand moved to the small of her back.

"We've got her," he stated, his tone a bit frayed around the edges. "And we'll treat her like a Mills-Locksley child, even if her last name is Damon."

Emma eyeballed him directly.

"It wasn't too hard to piece together," he said. "There aren't that many high-profile cases in the news these days that involve a baby, drugs and human trafficking."

"You'll keep that to yourself, of course," Emma returned, quirking a brow in their direction.

"Wild horses couldn't drag it out of us," Regina replied, pressing a small kiss to the girl's forehead. "When Robin says we'll treat her like our own, he means it."

Emma nodded, reaching out to shake Robin's hand.

"I know," she said. "Another reason I called you two first." She looked around, before sticking her hands in her pockets. "Alright. Listen, I've got to run. I've got another situation to deal with across town. There are far too many kids in crisis these days." She moved to her car door, pausing before sliding inside. "At least I know this kid is in good hands for the time being. I'll give you a call tomorrow to check in, alright?"

"Sounds good," Robin replied, as he picked up the car seat with his right hand. "We'll take care of her, Emma. I promise."

Sabrina chose that moment to blink open her eyes, and large crystal orbs stared up at Regina for the first time, capturing her heart completely as her hand continued to stroke the baby's back.

"Hi, sweetheart," Regina muttered, smiling as eyes dropped instantly to half-mast before sealing shut once again.

"I know you will," Emma said, sniffing before she climbed inside, shut the door and drove away. They stood there in a silence save the noise from the restaurant filtering through, just the three of them, and Robin slid his arm around them both completely, enveloping her with a sense of family and rightness.

"We should go in," he murmured into her cheek. "Get her in from the cold, yeah?"

"Yeah," Regina said, swaying from side to inside as Sabrina continued to sleep, saying a silent prayer that this child who'd just been placed into her arms and her life would be allowed to stay there forever.


End file.
